Yun-Zhen Wu

Hyperglycemic environment-induced oxidative stress-mediated matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) plays a crucial role in the degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM), which might contribute to premature skin aging. Synthesized, environmentally friendly gallic acid-coated gold nanoparticles (GA–AuNPs) have been evaluated as an anti-aging antioxidant. Their microstructure was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which showed that GA–AuNPs are spherical when prepared at pH 11. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis revealed that the average hydrodynamic diameter of a GA–AuNP is approximately 40 nm and with a zeta potential of −49.63 ± 2.11 mV. Additionally, the present data showed that GA–AuNPs have a superior ability to inhibit high glucose-mediated MMP-1-elicited type I collagen degradation in dermal fibroblast cells. Collectively, our data indicated that high-glucose-mediated ROS production was reduced upon cell treatment with GA–AuNPs, which blocked p38 MAPK/ERK-mediated c-Jun, c-Fos, ATF-2 phosphorylation, and the phosphorylation of NFκB, leading to the down-regulation of MMP-1 mRNA and protein expression in high glucose-treated cells. Our findings suggest that GA-AuNPs have a superior ability to inhibit high-glucose-mediated MMP-1-elicited ECM degradation, which highlights its potential as an anti-aging ingredient.